Mullin Tells Constituents They Must Model The Change They Want To See

Mullin Tells Constituents They Must Model The Change They Want To See

BRIAN D. SANDERFORD • TIMES RECORD / James Bennett talks with U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, during a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at People Inc. Conference Center in Sallisaw.

Mullin Tells Constituents They Must Model The Change They Want To See

BRIAN D. SANDERFORD • TIMES RECORD / John Holt, left, asks U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, a question as Doug Deer looks on during a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at People Inc. Conference Center in Sallisaw.

Mullin Tells Constituents They Must Model The Change They Want To See

BRIAN D. SANDERFORD • TIMES RECORD / James Bennett talks with U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, during a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at People Inc. Conference Center in Sallisaw.

SALLISAW — To change things in Washington, D.C., people back home must model the changes they wish to see, U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, told constituents at a Sequoyah County town hall meeting Tuesday.

One of the 20 people in the audience asked the congressman what could be done to stop the lying done by the various federal legislators.

“If we want to change the outcome of Washington, D.C, we have to change the way we act at home. … That’s where the boundaries are set. … You set the tone for Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., doesn’t set the tone for the country,” Mullin said.

The meeting was the first of three area town halls Tuesday, and among town halls Mullin scheduled this month throughout District 2’s 26 counties.

Connie Olcott asked Mullin what could be done about the state of Oklahoma’s public education system. Many members of her family are educators, and they’re worried about their jobs, their pay, state-mandated curriculum, and those in college are struggling with student loans, she said.

Mullin said he can’t do anything about what the state mandates, but in his opinion, federal mandates to the states are responsible for much of the situation. Mullin said education should be controlled locally, and he would work toward implementing that.

Olcott suggested that holders of student loans should be able to refinance them just as do holders of any other loan.

Mullin told her the problem lies in the loan system being controlled by the federal government rather than the private sector.

Access to veterans’ health care was on several attendees’ minds.

Sally Maxwell asked about the Veterans Administration and veterans’ hospitals.

Mullin said the federal government cannot issue more requirements to the VA without funding those mandates.

“I think accountability goes a long way. Why can’t we treat government the same as we treat small business? … I think we need to fund the accountability,” Mullin said.

James Bennett said he’s heard talk of simply buying insurance for the veterans, letting them seek health care in the mainstream and closing the VA system.

Mullin said there is a pilot program underway in some areas, but the VA is a bureaucracy. VA officials argue there is a niche need for specialized care for veterans which the VA system fills, he said.

Jack Jamison said his family must take his 90-year-old father, a veteran, to Muskogee to access health care, but there are all kinds of drugged-up people who can simply walk into a local hospital or clinic for treatment.

John Holt asked what citizens could do to keep the federal government from issuing unfunded mandates.

“It’ll take state push-back,” Mullin said.

Last year, the federal government set a record by issuing 26,417 pages of new regulation without any crossing the desks of congressional members, Mullin said. He blamed President Barack Obama, calling him a politician “driven by his own agenda who bypasses Congress.” Mullin said Congress is the voice of the people.

“But what do you expect when you elect a politician, not a leader?” Mullin asked. “The only way we can get out of this is to quit electing career politicians and instead elect citizen leaders.”

Mullin said Congress as a whole has become distanced from normal life.

“As far as I know, I’m the only member of Congress, 535 of us House and Senate combined, that still makes a payroll every week,” Mullin said.

Mullin, a Westville resident and businessman who is in the second year of his first term, is seeking re-election to the District 2 seat. He faces a Republican challenger, Darrel Roberson of Jay, in the June 24 primary election.

In the Nov. 4 general election, the Republican primary winner will face off against the Democratic primary winner and Independent challenger Jon Douthitt of Claremore. Earl E. Everett of Fort Gibson and Joshua Harris-Till of Tahlequah seek the Democratic nomination.